2007 Crop Nutrient Deficiency Photo Contest Winners

On this page, we highlight winners for each of the four categories. The entries were judged on the overall quality of the image as well as the supporting data provided by entrants.

Nitrogen

First Place

Nitrogen deficiency in tobacco.
Adriana Elina Ortega of Salta, Argentina, took this shot showing N deficiency in tobacco under no-till cultivation and mulch. Plants had a light green appearance and a definite yellowing of older leaves. Fully developed leaves had 1.79% N total and cured leaves had 1.18% N total.

Second Place

N deficient cornsubmitted by S. SrinivasanTamil Nadu, India

Third Place

N deficient cornsubmitted by Ryan StoffregenIllinois, U.S.A.)

Phosphorus

First PlacePhosphorus deficiency in canola.
Lyle Cowell of Saskatchewan, Canada, noticed this unintended ‘test strip’ in a canola crop that was directseeded into alfalfa stubble. The previous alfalfa crop depleted soil P and, in this case, the farmer ran out of seed-row P fertilizer on the last pass during seeding, causing slow and stunted growth.

Second Place

P deficient cornsubmitted by Nathan SlatonArkansas, U.S.A.

Third Place

P deficient cornsubmitted by Mr. SyafruddinSouth Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Potassium

First PlacePotassium deficiency in bermudagrass
Colin Massey of Arkansas, U.S.A., captured this image of K deficiency in bermudagrass. The crop received no K over a 2-year period. Mean soil test K in 2007 was 82 ppm. Tissue K concentration in 2007 ranged from 0.57% to 1.03% across four harvests. Averaged across harvests, total biomass with no K fertilizer was 59% of yields produced with 560 kg K20/ha applied over the four harvests.

Second Place

K deficient soybeansubmitted by Li YuyingHeilongjiang, China

Third Place

K deficient soybeansubmitted by Nathan SlatonArkansas, U.S.A.

Other

First PlaceBorn deficiency in coconut palm.
P. Jeyakumar of Tamil Nadu, India, took this close-up photo showing B deficiency in a 14-year old coconut palm. The deficiency was confirmed with symptoms such as early shedding of buttons (female flowers), resulting in poor fruit set, plus small and unevenly opened leaves. The developed nuts were also small and malformed. The soil test revealed that B content was very low (less than 0.3 mg/kg). Leaf tissue analysis also registered a lower value of 14 mg/kg.

Second Place

Ca deficient bananasubmitted by Luis EstradaGuatemala

Third Place

Fe deficient oilpalmsubmitted by Nolver AriasSantander, Colombia

Here are some of the other excellent entries that were received.

Nitrogen

N deficient corn

N deficient corn

N deficient oil palm

N deficient pasture

N deficient rice

Phosphorus

P deficient banana

P deficient corn

P deficient corn

P deficient corn

P deficient tomato

Potassium

K deficient barley

K deficient corn

K deficient oilpalm

K deficient rice

K deficient sugarbeet

Other Nutrients: B, Mg, Zn, Ca

B deficient canola

B deficient soybean

Ca deficient corn

Ca deficient sugarbeet

Fe deficient banana

Fe deficient cashew

Mg deficient corn

S deficient corn

Zn deficient corn

Zn deficient rice

Zn deficient rice

IPNI's Mission

The mission of IPNI is to develop and promote scientific information about the responsible management of plant nutrition for the benefit of the human family.

IPNI is a global organization with initiatives addressing the world's growing need for food, fuel, fiber and feed. There is widespread concern for issues such as climate change and relationship of crop production to the environment and ecosystems, and IPNI programs are achieving positive results. Best management practices (BMPs) for nutrient stewardship encourage the concept of applying the right product (source), at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place.